UNT Falls To Western Kentucky
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DENTON, Texas (11/19/11) – Kawaun Jakes threw three touchdown passes and Bobby Rainey ran for 214 yards to lead the Western Kentucky football team to a 31-21 win against North Texas on Saturday night at Apogee Stadium.
WKU improves to 6-5 overall and 6-1 in the conference, while North Texas falls to 4-7 and 3-4 in the Sun Belt. The Mean Green is now 3-2 at home and 4-1 in the series against the Hilltoppers.
“You have to give Western Kentucky a lot of credit,” said North Texas head coach Dan McCarney. “They are a tremendous football team that plays with a lot of energy. They were the better team tonight.”
The Hilltoppers used two big passing plays in the second quarter and a five-minute scoring drive in the third quarter to take the victory. North Texas held leads of 7-3 and 14-10 in the first half, but WKU responded each time to take back the lead.
Jakes completed 19 of 29 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Rainey rushed for 214 yards on 37 carries and had a rushing touchdown as well as a TD reception. The 214 yards by Rainey was the most rushing yards given up a North Texas opponent this year.
North Texas was held to 68 rushing yards. James Hamilton rushed for 51 yards, and Lance Dunbar saw limited action. Hamilton hauled in a second-quarter highlight-reel catch off his shoulder pads that was a career high of 23 yards.
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WKU took its second lead of the game, 10-7, at the start of the second quarter with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Jakes to Rainey. With 1:46 left on the clock, WKU used a 63-yard pass from Jakes to Tyler Higbee to retake the lead for a second time, 17-14, and enter half ahead.
North Texas missed an opportunity to score on its opening possession of the second half after Brelan Chancellor returned the kick-off 41 yards to the WKU 43. The Mean Green had two chances on fourth down to get the ball in the endzone from the WKU one-yard line but was halted both times and was forced to hand the ball over on downs.
The only score of the third quarter was a Kawaun pass to Mitchell Henry for six yards at the end of the quarter. The 80-yard drive took up 5:45 of clock time and extended the WKU lead to 10 points, 24-14.
Rainey sealed the win with a one-yard touchdown run at 2:47 left in the game. His 56-yard rush in the drive set up the score, extending WKU’s lead to 31-14.
North Texas was 0-for-6 on third-down conversions, while the Hilltoppers completed 9 of 16, which were the most by an opponent this year.
WKU scored on its opening possession of the game; converting on a 42-yard field goal. North Texas took a 7-3 lead with a four-yard touchdown run by Hamilton with 1:49 left in the first quarter. Thompson went 4-for-4 on the scoring drive, including an 18-yard pass to Daniel Prior and a 22-yard toss to Derrick Teegarden. It was a career-long catch for Prior and the first career reception for Teegarden.
Thompson found Chancellor in the left-hand corner of the endzone for a 20-yard touchdown reception, giving North Texas a 14-10 lead at 4:43 in the second quarter. Hamilton set up the touchdown with a 23-yard catch and a then an 18-yard rush. The senior running back racked up 58 all-purpose yards in the 7-play, 88-yard drive.
Thompson went 20-of-35 and passed for 254 yards. He threw two touchdown passes and had two interceptions.
The Mean Green returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 3 when it faces Middle Tennessee at home at 3 p.m.
